Right up front I get grassy hops, followed by a lemony citrus aroma, the malts come through very lightly, toasted grains, it smells nice.

The first thing I notice in the flavor is the hops, it’s a bit aggressive for a lighter beer but I don’t find it off putting as it dissipates quickly into a burst of citrus, lemon with a touch of lime. Malts are light and grainy, this is definitely not a heavy drinker and aimed at being refreshing.

Overall a good summer seasonal, I enjoy the strong citrus flavor but I can see where the hops may be a bit much for some people. I found the beer to be light and refreshing and at 4.7% very sessionable which is perfect for an afternoon of throwing horseshoes.

While I was sipping one of these Summer Swelters I found myself wondering how this beer would be to cook with, the lemon and lime seemed like it would go well a lighter meat so I tried a few things and found that it worked quite well as a marinade for Grilled Chicken and Baked Haddock. I’ve included a couple very easy recipes with this post.

Cheers!

Chaddah

Baked Haddock with Baxter Brewing Co. Summer Swelter

Ingredients

Haddock Filets

1 Can Baxter Brewing Co. Summer Swelter

Ground Black Pepper

Salt

This is a really simple baked haddock, I place the haddock filets in a sealable container and poured in ½ a can of Baxter Brewing Summer Swelter. Do this first thing in the morning and let it sit in the fridge for the day.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Remove the haddock filets from the container and place them in a baking pan and pour in the other ½ can of Summer Swelter (or open a new one and pour in half if you drank the other can).

Sprinkle or grind black pepper and salt on haddock, I’ll leave the amount up to you.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven for about 25 minutes. The haddock is done when the flesh is white and flakes apart with a fork.

This is a really nice way to make a lemon pepper baked haddock without needing lemon, the beer has a really nice lemon and lime citrus flavor that the light flavored meat takes on and the black pepper adds a bit of spice. This is really easy and quick, I’m not a fan of haddock and I really enjoyed it.

Grilled Chicken with Baxter Brewing Co. Summer Swelter

Ingredients

Chicken Breast

1 can of Baxter Brewing Co. Summer Swelter

Ground Pepper

Salt

Place chicken breast in a sealable container; pour in ½ a can of Summer Swelter. I normally start marinating in the morning for an afternoon/evening grill session but you could start the evening before.

Place chicken on the grill, sprinkle or grind black pepper and salt to taste. Every grill is different but I usually cook med-high until the meat is done.

I find myself grilling a lot of chicken in the summer; this is a really simple way to marinate the chicken and impart a nice lemon and lime flavor from the beer and keeps the meat from drying out as long as it’s not overcooked.